Every business wants to be green, but it can be harder than it looks. When you’re purchasing office equipment, for example, how do you determine which ones are the greenest?

To simplify and promote green purchasing, Ricoh Americas Corporation detailed its participation in the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) program, the definitive global registry for greener electronics (www.epeat.net/). For the past three years, Ricoh has worked with EPEAT and other stakeholders to develop 59 definitive environmental criteria for Imaging Equipment. Today, the EPEAT registry expanded to include devices such as printers, copiers, multi-function products and other equipment.

EPEAT is a comprehensive green purchasing standard based upon environmental design attributes, such as, energy efficiency, recycled and recyclable materials, product longevity, packaging, and environmental programs a manufacturer has in place. EPEAT provides purchasers the capability to easily compare environmental performance and practices of various manufacturers in a standardized format.

“The EPEAT registry will help technology buyers make smart purchases that advance their company’s sustainability initiatives, reducing their environmental footprint and resulting costs,” said Jay Dizzine, Vice President, Technology Marketing, Ricoh Americas Corporation. “Without EPEAT, it can be time-consuming, difficult and confusing for purchasing professionals to wade through all the specifications that may factor into sustainability or comprehend a manufacturer’s environmental program for the entire lifecycle of a product. We have Gold- and Silver-rated products today with many more to come, exemplifying our commitment to global leadership in environmental sustainability and the partnership with our customers.”

For more than six years, EPEAT has helped companies, governments and consumers compare and purchase greener PCs and monitors, resulting in significant environmental benefits. Today’s expansion into imaging equipment was heralded by congressional leaders, environmental groups, leading manufacturers and institutional purchasers.

“I applaud Ricoh for registering such a diverse range of products in EPEAT’s new Imaging Equipment category,” said Robert Frisbee, EPEAT CEO. “Ricoh’s proactive decision to embrace the EPEAT standards shows their commitment to environmental excellence across their product lines.”

EPEAT’s impact

To be added to the EPEAT Bronze registry, an imaging device must meet at least 33 required environmental performance criteria. Products may achieve higher Silver and Gold ratings by meeting up to 26 additional optional criteria. The rating criteria were developed during a four-year stakeholder consensus process that involved hundreds of representatives from the environmental, research, governmental and manufacturing sectors.

According to EPEAT: EPEAT’s original PC/Monitor rating system is used as an environmental requirement by eight national governments, including the United States, and thousands of purchasers worldwide. Purchase contracts that require EPEAT registration exceed $65 billion. More than 50 manufacturers have registered their “greener” PCs, monitors, copiers, printers and scanners in more than 40 countries. More than 533 million EPEAT-registered products have been purchased since the original registry debuted in July 2006. Since 2006, purchasers choosing EPEAT-registered electronics over products that don’t meet the system’s criteria have eliminated greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 11 million U.S. vehicles’ annual impact, avoided more than 394,000 metric tons of hazardous waste and reduced solid waste by nearly 167,000 metric tons – equivalent to nearly 86,000 U.S. households’ annual waste.

The EPEAT imaging standard is based on the specification Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1680.2 Standard for Environmental Assessment of Imaging Equipment.